TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- When the team at "Sesame Street" needed an expert, they made a call to University Boulevard.

Jamie Naidoo, an assistant professor in the University of Alabama's School of Library and Information Studies, began working as a consultant for the iconic children's TV show in February.

Rocio Galarza, Sesame Street’s senior director of content planning and design for outreach, contacted Naidoo after the show's researchers read some of his work on Latino children's and young adult literature as well as his blog "Imagínense Libros."

"I've admired the work of Sesame Street for a long time and grew up watching the show as a child," Naidoo said. "I was surprised that they were contacting me but the entire experience has been pleasant and eye-opening."

Naidoo, who serves as chair of the National Latino Children’s Literature Conference, first flew out to New York in February and will continue to work with show creators and other expert consultants on Sesame Street's portrayals of diverse Latino cultures in their media.

"I highlight positive, authentic portrayals of Latinos as well as negative, harmful stereotypes," Naidoo said. "I applied some of my findings to Sesame Street, offering examples of how to positively represent Latinos as well as what they should avoid."

The program, which has often featured Hispanic cast members over the years, introduced Rosita, its first Latina muppet, in 1993 as a regular character. The bilingual blue-green monster hails from Mexico and sprinkles in Spanish during her appearances on the show.

Sesame Street continues to reach out to the growing Latino population in the United States and looked to experts including Naidoo to better represent them.

"My job was to look at past episodes and suggest how they could improve their representation of the diversity in Latino cultures," Naidoo said. "Based on my experiences working with Latino children's literature, I offered suggestions on improvements and provided examples of both positive and negative representations of Latinos in children's media."

Latinos are present in almost every community in the U.S., and Sesame Street helps foster intercultural understanding, Naidoo said.

"It is important for non-Latino children to have opportunities to understand their Latino counterparts," Naidoo said. "It is equally important for Latino children to encounter positive role models of other Latinos in the media they interact with -- on and off the screen."